While Notre Dame football isn’t technically part of the ACC, most of the other Fighting Irish programs are officially part of the conference, which includes many other schools that were once in the Big East. One of the cool things about being part of this conference is that the live mascots are some of the best in the country.
While this isn’t EA Sports College Football 27, we decided to put together a battle of the live mascots in or associated with the Atlantic Coast Conference. So how do the best of the best in this conference line up?
The five best live-action ACC mascots
5. The Wake Forest Demon Deacon
There’s something to be said about having a dude walk out in a giant mask that looks like an old-time witch hunter. It’s even better when someone looks at that head and then hears that he’s a “demon” deacon. It feels like it could be a thing where the mutant head is there because he’s a demon, rather than a deacon of a church.
The guy in the stovepipe hat and big bow tie is even better when you consider how Wake Forest got its mascot and its name. The school was originally associated with the Baptist Convention, and its teams were known as the Fighting Baptists. In 1923, after a big win over Duke, a sportswriter wrote that they played "like demons," and the Demon Deacons nickname caught on. The mascot outfit followed shortly after.
4. The North Carolina Tar Heels ram
We’re suckers for a team that rolls out a real animal as its mascot, and Ramses is one of the coolest animal mascots out there. There’s also something about the fact that this animal has absolutely nothing to do with the actual mascot name. And yet, the ram has long been associated with the Tar Heels.
Rameses XXII has been carrying his family's legacy since 2010. Similar to his predecessors, Rameses paints his horns Carolina Blue and cheers on his team each week.
3. The Florida State Seminoles warrior
Personal dislike of Florida State set aside, Osceola and Renegade are a cool team-up that makes them one of the coolest live-action mascots out there. When Osceola rides his Renegade onto the field and throws his fiery spear into the ground, it’s pretty darn cool. It’s also a nice touch that local Seminole tribes have said they are entirely on board with this portrayal even if it does look problematic now and then.
2. The Stanford Cardinal tree
This one gets this far up the list because it’s just so freaking weird. The tree looks like something that an elementary school class made, and that’s the intent. It’s supposed to be weird and ugly, and the student rolling out onto the field in that thing gets a lot of cool points because of it.
1. The Notre Dame Leprechaun
It should surprise no one that the top live-action mascot on this list is the one that represents the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. There’s just nothing better than seeing that little Leprechaun run out onto the field or the court and lead the student section in cheers. He or she is easily the best mascot associated with the ACC.
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